Blessings in Disguise
by Abeep
Summary: One member of Mutant X takes the opportunity to work through her increasing powers after the explosion at Nexcon (I think that was the name of Shal's dad's company). The nightmares depriving her of sleep bring the revelation that something far more seriou
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: The usual. I own nothing, I know it, so please don't sue. Though you're welcome to use my opening idea to bring the show back. :)

Author's Note: Haven't written in a while. Shame on me. Thought of this and had to give it a try. I admittedly stopped watching the show after Emma died... I must warn you, I'm a big J/E shipper and don't think much of Lexa's character. It might show in the story. :) I guess the truth is I thought the team accepted Emma's death too easily. I kept waiting for there to be some psionic involved, making them see her as dead while Eckhart or someone else had the real Emma, who needed their help. (That's in another story I'm working on, by the way.)

Summary: One member of Mutant X takes the opportunity to work through her increasing powers after the explosion at Nexcon (I think that was the name of Shal's dad's company). The nightmares depriving her of sleep bring the revelation that something far more serious and deadly is going on than anyone realizes. BIG J/E fan so yes, there is that pairing. S/B also of course.

**Chapter One: The Departure**

She was sure that the time had arrived. Later, she would be able to recall the exact moment it hit her, clinging to the crumbling cement trying not to look down at the blaze below. If she was to leave her friends, in many ways her family, and work through her increasing powers and the nightmares filling her evenings she had to do it now. The explosion rocked the area for miles, making it believable that she would have died. Small, frail, innocent, caring, they would believe what they saw without question. And they did.

Watching Jesse's shocked face and Shal's terminated launch towards the red head's body, she knew. They believed. And that belief would give her the time she needed. Turning around, the weak and injured young woman walked slowly away from her friends. The group that had become her family would continue on without her, and without her knowledge, without their leader for a time. As the missions continued for the remaining members of Mutant X, Emma lived.

"Hey Sarafina, can you take me through another meditation later today? I'd love to pick up where we left off." Elise said, looking at her friend gratefully as the woman nodded.

"Certainly, dear. Have you had more nightmares?" Sarafina asked, knowing the answer already. Elise knew that while Sarafina was not a New Mutant, she has many gifts.

"Yes." Elise answered, frustrated. The former red head, now brunette, looked into the aged eyes of her good friend and let her frustration show. "I keep hoping the meditations will help. I'm very calm and relaxed before I curl up to bed, and then within a few hours I wake up from the nightmares." Sarafina gazed into the young woman's eyes and recognized her pain.

"It's not easy to have gifts, but there is always a reason. Have you considered that maybe these dreams," Sarafina paused, seeing Elise's glare, "nightmares, have meaning?" The older woman asked, watching Elise's brow furrow ever so slightly.

"I hope not." Elise said, remembering the stand off between Adam and Adam in front of a confused and scared Shalimar, Brennan, Jesse, and a brunette she didn't know. Elise tried to block the images that swam before her eyes, but they continued. The disturbing part wasn't even that there were two Adam's. The disturbing part, the part that really hurt, were the feelings that seemed to emanate from Jesse towards this brunette. She had grown used to his boyish charm and constant girl watching, but to know that he would one day come to love this other woman caused her heart to ache.

"Are you sure?" Sarafina asked quietly, allowing Elise to think of the images she was obviously consumed with while giving her something to ponder.

Whispering, "I hope not," Elise stood up slowly and walked towards the spot where she carried out her evening meditations. Sitting down gracefully but still filled with a sense of great loss, Elise crossed her legs and began the meditations that helped her control the power inside.

Breathing slowly, purposefully, Elise focused on releasing the images that had previously filled her. One by one the nightmares dissipated, drawing her deeper into herself. Recognizing the barriers she had put up for protection, Elise concentrated as she moved through them. The feeling was similar to that of sinking, only it was within her own mind.

Feeling comfortable within her skin again Elise allowed herself to sink. Looking around the young woman stopped. _Why would I bring myself here?_ Seeing woods and the huge aircraft, Elise immediately recognized her surroundings. Voices sounded further down the path, closer to the Helix's opening.

"I need time to fix it." Jesse said, frustrated. The soft sounds following were obviously her voice, tinged with fear. Elise closed her eyes, she remembered this day so well. Everything was just as it had been. Opening her eyes Elise watched the events unfold. As Shalimar chased Brennan to help him rescue the missing pilot, she tried to give Jesse the time he needed to fix the machine. Now, in this part of her mind, she stood still as a redhead sent a negative energy pulse throughout the surrounding area. Watching with trepidation, Elise felt Jesse's fear and astonishment before sensing nothing in the way of worry. She had wiped his mind of the experience, sparing herself the inconvenience of explaining her abilities to him. _The inconvenience of allowing him to worry about her._ She knew it was true.

Even though on the outside she was the most fragile of the team, internally she considered herself among its strongest members. To show weakness to this man, this young man who flirted like there was no tomorrow and who didn't even bother to hide his lust, was more than she could do. She cared for him. _I don't want you to see how weak I really am, Jesse._ The thought surprised her, but no one knew better than Elise that if there was truth to be found it would be here, within her own mind.

Seeing the barrier floating around this memory and confident she was ready to pass it, Elise walked through seconds before her jaw dropped. _Why am I here?_ Adam was yelling "Hang on Emma!" as he struggled to maintain his grip. Jesse and Brennan and Shalimar were hanging on to the cement floor to survive. They all stared at each other before looking at her. Frail, sweet Emma, will she survive? _Had they known she would leave them? Or is this my mind's way of bringing me back to reality, **I** left them after all._

Not sure of the answer but feeling slightly uncomfortable, Elise turned to move on when she stopped. There, behind one of the ambulances, was the brunette. _What was she doing there?_ Elise stood as the figure smiled and moved back into the shadows. Hearing a scream, Elise turned as Brennan grabbed Shalimar before she could run to the stretcher carrying away the image of Emma's dead form. Elise didn't know who the person was that had died, the woman either worked at Nexcon or was one of Eckhart's flunkies. Either way, she had made it easy for Emma to die.

Sighing, Elise began losing her focus. She wasn't dead, but after putting her friends through that she probably should be. Looking at the seen one more time Elise decided to strengthen her barriers. Feeling confidant with her abilities once again, Elise slowly came back to life.

As the young brunette opened her eyes she tried to take her mind off the image of the other woman at the scene. When Sarafina asked if her dreams meant something she had thought the woman was reaching too much into her own experiences. Elise didn't have the New Mutant ability to dream the future, but she supposed there might be some truth to what Sarafina had always told her. Everyone has gifts, some psychic or pre-cognitive or clairsentient or any number of a dozen others, most just don't know it or develop it. Forced to face her fears about her powers, she probably had a head start on most people where developing those natural gifts were concerned.

Standing up, Elise walked inside and started thinking. She couldn't go home, not yet; but she had to know who the other woman was. If her friends were in danger she had to warn them. Figuring out what to say, the young woman said a quick goodbye to Sarafina before rushing off to the library to send an anonymous message.


	2. A Friend

Disclaimer: The usual. I own nothing, I know it, so please don't sue.

Author's Note: This chapter probably isn't written very well. It felt like I took a while to write it, sorry if it seemed like it. I didn't watch Season 3 after Emma died, I just didn't like Lexa's character so I'm gonna end up making up a lot of fiction where the show is concerned. :) Please R/R, it encourages me to write; which is very helpful considering how busy I am these days.

Summary: One member of Mutant X takes the opportunity to work through her increasing powers after the explosion at Nexcon. An imminent danger brings her back to those she should be with. BIG J/E fan so yes, there is that pairing. S/B also of course.

**Chapter Two: A Friend**

Jesse slowly raised his head and began wiping the sleep from his eyes. Once the three remaining members returned to Sanctuary after the disaster at Nexcon, Mutant X came close to falling apart. Shalimar began disappearing for long time periods into the surrounding woods, the closest being miles away. The feral found it comforting to run for long stretches until she reached her own private sanctuary, the place she went to grieve and think of those who they had so recently lost. Brennan and Jesse handled their grief differently, instead of taking the time to mourn they each argued on whether or not to continue the mission Adam had originally set them on. Jesse felt they owed it to their former leader, while Brennan struggled to deal with his anger over the loss and his desire for revenge on Eckhart. After their latest argument Jesse had gone back to the computer he used so often, and had fallen asleep. Now, as his eyes came into focus, the beeping that woke him up finally caught his attention.

Clicking on the obnoxious new e-mail alert to close it, Jesse wondered who could have sent the e-mail. Two weeks had passed since the death of Adam and Emma, and the team had received little word from the safe houses in that time. Everyone still seemed to be dealing with the news, so out of respect people kept to themselves. Now, looking at the e-mail, it was obvious to Jesse his first guess was wrong. The message wasn't from one of the safe houses. _Weird_.

Opening the message, Jesse read:

Jesse,

Find the security footage of Nexcon's exterior on the day of the explosion and watch it. There was a woman watching the events, she

was behind one of the ambulances. Could be friend or foe, you must find out. Be careful. Everything is not all that it seems.

Please, keep this to yourself for now. You will be surprised by the video, but I trust you... as Emma did.

- A friend.

Staring at the words, Jesse froze. _On the day of the explosion? A woman? What is this?_ Jesse stared at the signature and wondered. Closing his eyes, images wafted by of an ambulance taking away the body of a certain red head who even now haunted his thoughts. Sighing, Jesse opened his eyes and decided to keep this e-mail to himself for the moment. There was no point in sharing it with the others right now anyway. Shal was off somewhere and Brennan would most likely still be angry with him. Besides, he needed to find that security footage first. If only because he had trusted Emma, literally with his life, so for now he would trust this mysterious friend of Mutant X. _For now._

Jesse began typing quickly and before long he discovered where the back up tapes were stored for Nexcon's security system. The company itself no longer existed. With Shalimar's father unwilling to continue aiding Eckhart and his research buildings destroyed, Nexcon was finished. The tapes however, kept offsite by a contracted company, still existed. Digging through the files of footage that he was able to bring up after hacking into the company's system, Jesse found the footage he was searching for.

Staring at the unopened file the molecular sighed. Ready or not, he couldn't ignore the potential warning within the e-mail. Clicking open the file Jesse's eyes grew in awe as he watched the events of that day unfold from the outside. Seeing the complete obliteration of most of Nexcon, Jesse realized what a miracle it was that any of them survived. Looking hard for the woman mentioned in the e-mail, Jesse's eyes widened.

Remaining in place, overwhelmed by shakes, brain fried, Jesse sat. Sat and stared. _Oh my god._ Several minutes passed as Jesse's brain tried to reconcile what he saw with what he knew to be true. He saw her body, _saw_ it! What the tape showed him wasn't possible... "but I trust you... as Emma did." The words popped into Jesse's mind unsolicited. _As Emma _did Collapsing into his chair, Jesse allowed the tears of joy to wrack his body. He didn't understand how much the beautiful young woman meant to him, even in death, until after he discovered that she was alive. _I'm such an idiot!_ Salty drops flowed from the molecular's eyes as he berated himself.

Over the past few years there had been so many distractions. The biggest had been Amanda, the feral who had attracted him with such grace, whose death had been so sudden and meaningless. Then there were the girls, any number of which whose names failed him now. His attraction to them all had been so purely physical, so easy, so unattached. _No wonder I never gave Emma a second glance. It would have been so complicated, so much more than physical._ Jesse shuddered. Wiping away his tears, he wondered if Emma didn't help in someway. _It doesn't matter. I cut myself off from her without realizing it, no wonder she left._ As tears flowed again Jesse rewound the footage to see his lovely red head walk away.

_In a small, dinky little town..._

Elise reached out to touch the smooth surface of the water, frowning when it instantly rippled. The young brunette sighed. Everything seemed perfect until she touched it. Thinking of how her latest dreams seemed to confirm just that Elise curled over suddenly. Distraught, completely overwhelmed by the pure raw emotion in her gut, Elise tightened her arms around her legs. The young woman laid in the fetal position for several minutes. Feeling after feeling overwhelmed her, sadness... shock... joy... confusion... foolishness... indecision... one by one the emotions flooded her. _Jesse?_ The silent question needed no answer, Elise knew whose feelings she was receiving. Her connection with the young man was almost as surprising as the feelings themselves. _I knew my message would affect him. I didn't mean to cause him so much pain._ Elise wiped the unbidden tears off her face as she tried to understand why she could sense him so clearly, so freely, without any effort on her part. _Jesse_

_In Sanctuary.._

After the fifth replay, Jesse finally stopped the tape. At this point the war began. _Should I tell the others?_ The question seemed so simple, deceptively simple. A big part of Jesse wanted to run to the others and share his discovery. This wasn't a surprise to the New Mutant. He very much wanted to see his friends smile again, to be able to talk to Brennan as he once had, to spar with the Shal who hadn't escaped her problems but instead talked to him about them. His friends, his family, needed to be brought back together. _All of them..._ Sighing, Jesse looked to the side in the direction where thuds sounded. Brennan was playing basketball, trying to take his mind off their current situation.

Shutting his eyes tightly, Jesse warred with the indecision. _Emma_

_In a small, dinky little town..._

No longer able to resist the cry, Elise reached out with her mind until she made contact.

_A beautiful place..._

"Jesse?" Emma's voice was hesitant, the handsome man standing before her.

"Em... Emma?" Jesse asked, unsure of what was happening.

"Jesse." The soft voice pulled on him; it was music to his ears. Reaching out and pulling the brunette to him, Jesse cried Emma's name once more as he hugged the young woman to him. Responding, Emma hugged Jesse with as much force. Ashamed for bringing him and the rest of the team so much grief, Emma sighed. "I'm so sorry Jesse."

Jesse pulled away from Emma and stared into her crystal blue eyes. Several moments of silence passed before he gathered the courage to ask, "Why?"

Emma closed her eyes, not ready to explain to this man who had protected her, been her friend, her confidant, her biggest supporter, why she had left. So she stood in silence, unable to speak.

"Emma." Jesse whispered her name, accepting her silence for what it was. _She's not ready to tell me._ Hugging her once again, Jesse allowed her to linger in his arms. Sadness creeped into Emma slowly, forcing her to pull back slightly and look up into Jesse's eyes.

"Jess, what is it?" Emma asked, confused.

"This isn't real, is it? I can't take you home with me, can I?" Jesse answered, all too aware that Emma wasn't really in the shelter of his arms. Emma looked down.

"No, I... no." The word felt like lead as it rolled off her tongue, increasing Emma's guilt. Pulling back sharply, Emma straightened to her full height. "I'm sorry Jesse, I needed to warn you. Maybe I should have waited until I was ready to come back, until I had figured out what was wrong with me, but by then it could have been too late." Jesse noticed how empty his arms felt compared to before, and just sighed at Emma's response.

"It's okay Em, I'll check the footage to see if I can find the woman you're talking about and I will keep this to myself. For now." Jesse emphasized the last two words, causing Emma to nod her head in understanding.

"Thanks Jess." As Emma started to back away to break the connection, Jesse grabbed her once again and hugged her. "Jesse."

"Emma, what's wrong? Let me help, please." Jesse whispered the words in her ear, so softly Emma thought she was dreaming.

"Find out who that woman is, and what she wants with Mutant X. Help the team." Emma said.

"You're apart of the team, Em." Jesse's low voice sent chills up her spine. Emma smiled before fading into thin air, the connection broken.

_In a small, dinky little town..._

Smiling, the sadness within Elise could not take away the joy of seeing one of her friends again. It felt good to be in Jesse's arms. As Elise allowed herself to acknowledge how good, Sarafina's sage voice called out to the young woman. With the smile still in place Elise walked towards her friend's voice. Finding the older woman lighting candles in the large house's sun room, Elise immediately recognized that Sarafina was preparing to meditate.

"You're ready to meditate some more? That's great." Elise said as she claimed a mat on the floor. Turning, Sarafina noticed her young friend's mood and took note of it.

"Yes, I think it's time we explore these dreams of yours a little more, don't you?" Sarafina asked knowingly. Turning upward, Elise paused before answering "Yes."

After lighting three candles, Sarafina took a large one and moved to place it in front of Elise on the ground. Sitting down herself, the older woman made herself comfortable before lighting the candle that separated her from Elise.

"Focus on the light, Elise. Watch the flame as it flickers, feeling the pull of the wind. Clear your mind, don't allow the winds to pull you as the flame does. Clear your mind and focus on the light. What do you see?" Sarafina asked gently, guiding Elise into another world where answers could be found.

The light flickered, then in one moment the flame stood still, as if time itself no longer moved. In that instant Elise saw it, the home she had been welcomed into two years earlier. It was large, segregated place. Beautiful in its simplicity. It was carved into the earth itself, and offered both sanctuary and shelter. It offered protection, to her and to the others that she claimed as friends. It had always been a warm, comforting place. Elise's eyes winced as in out in the sun, at the coldness she found here now. The warmth was gone. The shelter was no longer assuring and comforting, but instead a place of dread and coldness and death.

Breathing in sharply the brunette watched as an armed forced ravaged Sanctuary. The men moved from room to room, searching and destroying methodically as an unknown man hid the shadows. The man was no mystery though, he could not hide. He was and was not Adam Cane, the man she had considered a father figure until realizing the depth of his weaknesses. This was not Adam, this was not man, the coldness within him beckoned otherwise. He was doom, annihilation, death. He controlled all of these without conscious, without soul, without heart. Elise found enemy. In this man, the truth would be revealed. She prayed she would live to see it, so that her friends could live in safety.

The flame flickered, Jesse's young, powerful form filled her vision. Beside him was the brunette who presented the mystery. Would she help? Would she harm Jesse? Elise wanted to close her eyes but knew better. To do so would be to close herself off to the truth. And the truth is what she needed if she were to ever return home. As the flame steadied, Adam came within sight. The true Adam, the Adam who had sent Shalimar and Jesse to save her and Brennan's lives that day two years ago. He sat in his lab, furiously working to solve some puzzle. His frustration was clear, his guilt almost more than she could handle. Her quest to find out what was happening to her was somehow related to this once arrogant scientist. The picture became all to clear suddenly before Adam disappeared.

Sitting now in his chair was Brennan, struggling to understand how one teammate, a friend, could die and how their leader could have disappeared. Brennan's fist closed tightly, his internal struggle between grief and anger rocked Elise back with its intensity. Now Elise understood the depth of turmoil the team seemed to be going through. Adam had not gone home with them on that day. That day she made the decision to leave, to walk her own path.

The flame flickered once before smoke curled and wafted high, leaving Elise with the image of the mystery woman in Jesse's arms. Blinking rapidly, Elise fought to rid herself of the image. A tear fell as her dry eyes could no longer resist the need to moisten themselves. Wiping away the unwanted tear, Elise allowed the images to flow as puzzle pieces. She needed to find Adam. Her answers lay there, with him. As Elise stood up and began walking to her bedroom to get some sleep, the image of the mystery woman in Jesse's arms haunted her.


End file.
